Oct 31 (tokyoreporter.com) - A man in custody following the discovery of parts of nine corpses in his apartment in Zama City has told police that he disposed of portions of the bodies in the trash, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Oct. 31).
On Monday, Tokyo Metropolitan Police entered the second-floor residence, located in the Midorigaoka area, and found seven ice coolers inside the premises to contain the body parts belonging to eight women and one man.
Following questioning, police arrested Takahiro Shiraishi, 27, on suspicion of abandoning a corpse. The suspect told police he dismembered the bodies in the bathroom after killing the persons. "I dismembered the corpses in the bathroom," Shiraishi was quoted. "I did it as a means of destroying evidence."
Police believe the body parts were placed inside the coolers between August 22 and October 30. Among the body parts were skulls and other bones. Regarding the flesh and internal organs, the suspect told police, "I dumped them in the garbage."
Police are will now use DNA analysis and dental records to identify the bodies.
Police believe one of the bodies is believed to belong to a 23-year-old woman from Hachioji City. On October 21, the parents of the woman were unable to contact their daughter. Three days later, the older brother of the woman lodged a missing persons report with the Takao Police Station.
Commit suicide as a group
According to police, the woman posted a message on Twitter saying that she was seeking partners with whom to commit suicide as a group. She also is known to have corresponded with the man who lives in the residence, aged in his 20s, on at least one occasion on a site for people seeking to take their lives.
An examination of security camera footage taken at Odakyu Sobudai-Mae Station, which is located near the residence, on October 23 shows the woman with the man.
"In August, there was a smell, similar to that from sewage, coming from his residence," says a male company employee who lives in the same apartment building as Shiraishi. "By no means did I think [it was due to corpses]."
Source: ANNnewsCH
